


Stay Happy, Douchebag

by cantfuckinbelievethis



Series: It Felt Like Home verse [2]
Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: Canon Divergence, M/M, Oops, Post-6x01, as he should, i accidentally put more angst than i thought i would, ian feels bad, im sorry im bitter, mentions of old memories, mickey's dead I'm sorry, most not canon, slightly more milkovich bonding, some shade is thrown through no fault of my own, sort of happy ending?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-07
Updated: 2016-07-07
Packaged: 2018-07-22 03:42:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7418431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cantfuckinbelievethis/pseuds/cantfuckinbelievethis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A sort of epilogue for It Felt Like Home. Mandy collects Mickey's ashes and gives them to the people in Mickey's life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stay Happy, Douchebag

**Author's Note:**

> Me: *sees all the posts on tumblr about people wondering about all the people making dead!mickey fics* *pulls at collar and sweats nervously* 
> 
> So this is set a few months after Mickey properly goes, and it has a very loose grasp on how cremation and handling a dead body actually works (like how long they keep it for, what everything's called, etc.)

It made Mandy feel uncomfortable too see such a young girl in such a morbid place, but she seemed right at home. The kid was probably around fifteen, feet swinging from the stool she was seated on. She was reading a magazine and smiling at Mandy every so often as Mandy nervously tapped her feet against the tiled floor. After a few minutes of silence, the girl shut the magazine and leant forward, eyeing Mandy in a way that made her feel uncomfortable.  
  
    ‘Who’s he to you?’ the girl asked.  
  
    Mandy looked up awkwardly, the place giving her the absolute creeps. ‘Uh…he was my brother.’  
  
    The girl nodded before turning back to her magazine. She bit her lower lip, seeming to be conflicted about whether to say what she clearly wanted to. Mandy didn’t push, since she didn’t really want this kid jabbering on in her ear anyway, but it seemed to win over as the girl dropped the magazine in her lap and turned back to Mandy.  
  
    ‘He’s been in the back a _long time_. Dad was just going to bury him, out in the back, you know? I told him to wait, because there was someone coming for him. I mean, it was a guess, but I was glad I was right. Everyone should have someone.’  
  
    Mandy nodded, finding it hard not to snap at the kid. Her shoulders tensed as she remembered that she wasn’t _going_ to come back. She had left, she had said her goodbyes to him already, and it didn’t really matter. Then she got the call from the prison, who’d finally gotten her number. They told her that he had died months ago, and if she didn’t come for him, they would probably throw him out because he didn’t leave a will.  
  
    The thought of anyone throwing Mickey away like garbage was enough to make her race back to Chicago.  
  
    ‘Good thinking,’ Mandy said between gritted teeth, _really_ not wanting to talk about it.  
  
    The girl hesitated for a second before asking, ‘Was he nice? My dad said he came from the prison. Did he do something bad?’  
  
    Mandy let out an annoyed sigh. The kid wasn’t going to let up. ‘He was great, but he did do something bad…Well, some people considered it bad. I myself was tickled by the idea, but right and wrong has always kind of been a struggle with our family.’  
  
    The girl nodded slowly. ‘Okay…’ She then muttered under her breath, ‘Weird.’  
  
    That seemed to be enough to shut the girl up and she turned back to her magazine until her father came out. He placed the urn on the counter along with a bag of urns the size of a teacup. The girl stood from the stool to get a closer look at the urn, reading the name on it. She mouthed it, shrugging, before plopping back on the stool again. Mandy almost rolled her eyes as she approached the counter.  
  
    ‘Here he is,’ the funeral director announced.  
  
    Mandy nodded, thanking the man and grabbing the urn. It was heavier than she’d thought. Luckily she’d already paid the guy and gotten Mickey’s stuff from the prison so she didn’t need to handle anymore than the urn and the smaller urns.  
  
    The urns were all the same design: brass, gold finish, thin, black, concentric stripes around the bottom and lid. They were simple and Mickey probably would’ve chosen them. Mandy liked to think that anyway since the bastard had neglected to tell her anything about what he wanted. All she had remembered was when they were high once and talking about burial vs. cremation. She couldn’t remember exactly what he had said but she was sure he had said something like “blaze it”, so she figured that was enough. Plus, she knew Mickey wasn’t too picky so he probably wouldn’t have had a problem with it.  
  
    She lugged the stuff back to her car, chucking the smaller urns into the back and carefully placing the bigger, full urn on the passenger seat beside her. She eyed it for a moment before putting the seatbelt on, nodding to herself when it seemed secure enough. She _really_ wasn’t keen on getting Mickey all over her fucking car. She’d been traumatised enough in her lifetime without breathing in her brother’s ashes.  
  
    Hopping in the driver’s seat and shutting the door, she called Iggy. ‘I’ve got him.’  
  
    ‘Do you feel his energy?’ an unexpected voice questioned.  
  
    Mandy almost groaned in annoyance. ‘No, Giovanna, it appears Ian has been successful in kicking his ghostly ass into the afterlife. Now, where is Iggy? Since it’s _our_ brother, I’d like to talk to him.’  
  
    ‘He’s right here, but Mandy, he was my brother-in-law and my family, too. I’d appreciate you being more sensitive when I’m just being concerned,’ Giovanna said huffily before passing the phone to Iggy.  
  
    ‘Oh, fuck off, flower power,’ Mandy muttered under her breath.  
  
    ‘Mands, why do you gotta upset G _every_ time you speak to her?’ Iggy asked.  
  
    ‘Iggy, I’ve got him.’  
  
    ‘Oh, you do?’ Iggy paused. ‘What’s he look like?’  
  
    Mandy snorted. ‘He looks like a pile of fuckin’ ashes, dumbass. What’d you think he was gonna look like?’  
  
    ‘Did they save his knuckles?’  
  
    Mandy made a disgusted face. ‘What kinda fucked up question is that?’  
  
    ‘His tatts were the bomb. I reckon we should’ve kept them.’  
  
    ‘If Mickey were here, he would so punch you in the face right now.’ Mandy laughed a little.  
  
    ‘Yeah, I know. Speakin’ of tattoos, how’s yours goin’?’  
  
    ‘Fuckin’ itches, man,’ Mandy whined. ‘No one warned me about that little detail.’  
  
    ‘You don’t remember Mickey bitchin’ forever about his goddamn itchy hands?’ Iggy snickered. ‘Fucker blamed me for it.’  
  
    ‘It was your fault, Ig. You were the one who got him drunk and suggested it.’  
  
    ‘Whatever. Kid made his own decisions.’ Iggy paused. ‘So what’s up? What are you gonna do?’  
  
    ‘I got some smaller urns. I thought I’d bring him round and split him up between people…I can only think of you and Svet, though.’  
  
    ‘Do you reckon he’d want to go to…uh…’ Iggy stumbled over his words, not really knowing how to suggest what he was going to. Ian was still kind of a sore spot to Mandy ever since Iggy told her everything Mickey had told him while Mandy was sleeping.  
  
    Mandy hesitated before spitting out, ‘Well, of course I wanna say fuckin’ _no_ , but…he might’ve…I don’t even know, how fucked up is that?’  
  
    ‘Mick didn’t say much about that kinda shit, Mands. It’s not our fault we don’t know.’  
  
    ‘I know…I just wish he was fuckin’ _here_. He could tell me what the fuck to do, because I sure as hell don’t know.’  
  
    ‘How about you just come by here and give some to us? We can go to Svet’s later and then figure it out from there.’  
  
    Mandy nodded, giving the urn one last look before saying, ‘Yeah, we’re comin’.’  
  
*  
  
The whole ten minutes they’d spent at Iggy’s before moving on was torture. Mandy had stopped herself more than once from smashing the urn over Giovanna’s big ass head. She just kept reminding herself that it wasn’t right to waste her brother’s ashes on her. Also, Mickey had kinda liked the bitch, so he probably wouldn’t take kindly to bashing in her head. Iggy would also probably be annoyed, seeing as she’s his fiancée and all.  
  
    Iggy was now in her passenger’s seat, Mickey in his lap and he was tapping the beat to a song on the top of the urn. Mandy shook her head, unbelieving of his idiocy. Mickey would totally smack Iggy right now if he were here, probably make some crack about respecting the dead.  
  
    ‘Oh my _god_ , I’m never bringing you to a funeral,’ Mandy huffed as she pulled up to the Ball’s house.  
  
    Iggy frowned. ‘Huh?’  
  
    ‘Just get out of the fuckin’ car, asshole.’  
  
    ‘Stop being such a bitch or I’ll slap your arm,’ Iggy threatened as he climbed out of the car. ‘Or give you a titty twister since Mick’s not here to do the honours.’  
  
    ‘Don’t you _fuckin’_ dare!’ Mandy seethed as she stepped up to the front door, knocking. ‘You touch my fuckin’ _anything_ , and I’ll make sure you never live to see your wedding day.’  
  
    ‘Skank.’  
  
    ‘Dickhead.’  
  
    ‘Milkoviches!’ Kevin Ball cried out, seemingly surprised to see them until his eyes fell down to the urn in Mandy’s arms. ‘Oh…did you bring…?’  
  
    ‘Our brother that none of you cared about, living or dead?’ Mandy smiled mockingly. ‘Yep. Brought him for Svet.’  
  
    ‘Mandy,’ Iggy hissed, nudging her.  
  
    ‘My God, that bitch has made you soft,’ Mandy huffed, pushing past a stunned Kev and charged into the house.  
  
    ‘Look, I cared about Mickey, alright?’ Kev tried as he followed them into the lounge room. ‘I’m sad that he’s gone.’  
  
    Mandy scanned the room, noticing the random items of clothing that have been left lying around. Bras, thongs, boxers. ‘Yeah, you seem heartbroken…You have a fuckin’ orgy or somethin’?’  
  
    Kev ignored the question and said, ‘I’m sorry about Mickey. Svetlana is upstairs, but I’ve got to go to The Alibi.’ He turned and yelled Svetlana’s name up the stairs before looking back at them. He didn’t say anymore, just lightly touched the urn as he passed it and left.  
  
    ‘That was fuckin’ weird…’ Iggy commented, hugging Mickey’s urn tighter to his chest. ‘Did Svetlana tell everyone, do you reckon? Or did they all just…find out some other way?’  
  
    ‘I told them, and it spread,’ Svetlana commented as she descended the stairs with Yevgeny in her arms, gurgling happily. ‘Also Orange Boy let everyone know.’  
  
    ‘How the fuck did he explain knowing that one?’ Mandy frowned.  
  
    Svetlana shrugged, passing Yev to Mandy as he held his pudgy little hands out for Mandy. ‘He said you called and told him. Did he lie?’  
  
    Mandy scoffed, cuddling Yev to her chest. ‘Yes, he fuckin’ lied. I didn’t tell that asshole shit.’  
  
    There was silence for a few moments as they took a seat on the couch. Iggy glanced down hesitantly at the couch, unsure if he wanted to sit down on it. God knows what happened here last night. After a second, he just gave up and sat down.  
  
    ‘So…did you want some of Mickey?’ Iggy asked, thinking how fucking weird the question sounded.  
  
    Svetlana nodded. ‘Yes. Yevgeny should have a piece of his father.’  
  
    ‘So you’re going to keep it, not scatter it?’ Mandy asked.  
  
    ‘I’m going to keep it on shelf.’ Svetlana gestured to said shelf, leaning back on the couch and watching as Iggy poured some ashes into one of the smaller urns. ‘Yevgeny will grow up with father always there.’  
  
    Mandy glanced down at the big, blue eyes staring up at her. They were so startlingly like Mickey’s that she almost wanted to look away as her heart ached. Sometimes she missed her fuckhead of a brother so much that it killed her. Instead of turning away, though, she just said, ‘Hey, little man. What do ya say? Happy your dad’s gonna stick with you?’  
  
    Yev gurgled again, clapping his hands together at the sound of Mandy’s voice. He could clearly tell she was speaking to him directly. He bounced in her arms, slapping his hands down on her forearm.  
  
    ‘ _Fucking shit_ ,’ she hissed, passing him back to Svetlana gently as she inspected her tattoo. ‘That hurt like hell. Maybe I won’t visit again until this is healed.’  
  
    Svetlana eyed the tattoo, corner of her mouth lifting up before she demanded, ‘But you visit, yes?’  
  
    Mandy nodded, rolling her eyes. ‘Yeah, Svet. We’ll still visit. Ain’t gonna leave Yev alone with just you and the Balls. Needs some of his Milkovich clan around, too, since Mick can’t do it.’  
  
    ‘I am Milkovich still,’ Svetlana said, raising her chin challengingly.  
  
    ‘You’re married to someone else,’ Iggy argued. ‘And you were never related to us by blood.’  
  
    Mandy and Svetlana’s eyes met, and Mandy knew what she meant. Even if Svetlana came into their lives in the most unfortunate of circumstances, and even if she was out of the family legally, they were connected because of Yev. Mickey was still connected to them all. Mandy nodded slightly, almost to herself, before touching Iggy’s shoulder.  
  
    ‘You ever fought Svet before, Ig?’ Mandy snickered. ‘She’s a fuckin’ Milkovich if I ever saw one.’  
  
    Then Svetlana did something that Mandy had never seen her do before: she grinned. Not a mocking or smug grin, but a genuine one.  
  
    Svetlana had cared. More than she had shown and more most people thought, but she had.  
  
*  
  
‘This is it, Mands,’ Iggy said once she had parked outside his place. ‘You gonna give him to Gallagher or not?’  
  
    Mandy bit her lip, looking at the urn once more before turning away. ‘I don’t know if I can. Don’t think he deserves it. A piece of Mickey.’  
  
    ‘Mandy…He has one. Whether you give him some ashes or not, he’s always going to have a piece of Mickey. Dumbass gave him it without even thinking.’ Iggy smiled slightly like he always did when he thought of how happy Mickey had been with Gallagher for that short while. Before everything had fallen apart, it had been a good time in all of their lives.  
  
    Mandy scratched at her nose with her thumb, sniffing slightly as she felt the tears prickle behind her eyes.  
  
    Iggy snickered. ‘That was a fuckin’ Mickey move if I’ve ever seen one. You pickin’ up his habits now?’  
  
    ‘I already inherited his love of dick,’ Mandy laughed. ‘Why not a few other qualities?’  
  
    Iggy’s grin grew soft. ‘You’d be fuckin’ lucky to.’  
  
    Mandy nodded slightly, leaning her head back against the headrest as she let out a long breath. She blinked back the tears and tried to calm down. She didn’t want to cry anymore. ‘Yeah…yeah. Fuckin’ cheesy, but it’s true.’  
  
    Iggy sniffed, voice coming out thick. ‘I, uh, I’d better be goin’. You do whatever you think is right, Mands. You and Mick were always the closest anyway.’ Iggy patted the urn before handing it off to Mandy. ‘See ya, dude.’ He climbed out of the car, turning to Mandy and saying goodbye to her too before shutting the door. He flipped her off over his shoulder as he walked into his place.  
  
    ‘I can’t believe the next time I’m coming back here is for that asshole’s _wedding_ ,’ Mandy laughed as she put Mickey’s urn in the passenger seat again. Clicking her tongue, she glanced at it again. ‘What do you think, assface? Should I find Ian and give him a little bit? I dunno even where he’d be. Maybe he would be at work at this time?’ She sighed. ‘Fuck, I wish you were here so you could just tell me.’  
  
    Mandy took a deep breath, turning away from the urn and putting her hands on the steering wheel. Her eye caught her forearm and she looked at it again before nodding and deciding what she was going to do, ‘Fuck him. He doesn’t deserve you.’  
  
*  
  
Mandy was passing her old neighbourhood on the way out of town when she saw him. He was lounging on _her goddamn porch_ as if it was his place to sit. She shot a glare at Mickey’s urn, knowing somehow that he was behind all this — making her rethink her decision.  
  
    ‘You’re really a forgiving idiot, you know?’ she muttered before pulling over.  
  
    Ian was reclined on the old, broken porch. His hair was even brighter on the sunlight, and he was dressed in a hoodie and jeans so Mandy figured he hadn’t gone to work today. He had slight stubble and Mandy wondered if he even went to work anymore. Even though she was fucking furious at the asshole, she hoped he hadn’t quit his job, because that was just a stupid idea.  
  
    ‘Gallagher, shouldn’t you be out savin’ lives and shit?’ Mandy called out as she approached. She didn’t bring Mickey with her, not wanting him to see yet.  
  
    Ian almost jumped out of his goddamn skin at Mandy’s voice, eyes popping open and widening at the sight of Mandy Milkovich. She was in jeans and a t-shirt, still blonde, but looking so much like how she did when she lived there. She looked different somehow, though. Happy, maybe? Beautiful, definitely. He didn’t know how to respond, just sat up and gaped at her.  
  
    She snorted almost grumpily, kicking his feet so she could sit down next to him. ‘You gonna answer me?’  
  
    Ian nodded, voice coming out croaky as he said, ‘Uh, yeah—No. It’s my day off. I had to fill in for someone for a few days, so I was given two days off. I go back tomorrow.’  
  
    Mandy nodded, not really knowing where to go with this now.  
  
    Luckily, Ian decided to take the lead from there. ‘How you been?’  
  
    ‘Well, my brother’s fuckin’ _dead_ , so.’  
  
    Mandy couldn’t help but let the bitterness seep out of her, like sap from a tree. It came out, but just stuck to her. She was waiting for someone to come and pick it off her, but she felt like the only person that could was gone. The only person who could make this right was gone, and she didn’t know what she was going to do.  
  
    Ian didn’t seem to surprised at this, though, just played with a necklace that rested against his chest. It was vaguely familiar, but Mandy wrote it off as something Ian had worn before. ‘Yeah…Almost got fired after—They thought I was off my meds. Didn’t go down too well, but I managed to convince them it was just normal depression.’  
  
    Mandy gritted her teeth, not really knowing what to do with that. She almost wanted to snap something like “what do you want? Me to feel fucking sorry for you?” but she didn’t. She just settled for a casual conversation, like they were just acquaintances. It hurt so bad that it had ended up this way. Treating each other so gingerly and like they hadn’t lived together, like they hadn’t been closer than Mandy’d been with anyone, like they didn’t share and lose someone they both loved.  
  
    ‘How’d the boyfriend handle it?’  
  
    Ian shook his head, not looking at Mandy as he answered, ‘He didn’t. He couldn’t really understand why I was upset since, uh…’  
  
    ‘Since Mickey was an abusive asshole who did nothing but hit and fuck you?’ Mandy snapped, done with casual, distanced conversation now.  
  
    Ian clenched his jaw, staring out at the street, and nodded. ‘Yeah. He didn’t know how it really was. He thought I’d be relieved. He thought I was off my meds. He didn’t believe me when I said I was on them and they were working, but I was just sad. He apologised, said he thought he could handle it, but he was wrong. He broke up with me.’  
  
    ‘Interesting…So, you had a boyfriend who didn’t act like a “caretaker” and it didn’t work out?’ Mandy clicked her tongue. ‘Shame.’  
  
    ‘Mandy,’ Ian snapped and she turned to him in surprise. ‘Don’t you think I fuckin’ regret it? Don’t you think I regret _everything_? Don’t you think I lie awake every night thinking that _maybe_ if I hadn’t broken up with him, that he wouldn’t have died? That _maybe_ if I hadn’t fucked up in the first place by telling Sammi, then maybe he wouldn’t have had a reason to do what he did? That _maybe, just maybe_ if I hadn’t left for the army…that things would be different? I do, okay. I think about it all the time, and I really don’t need you fucking rubbing it in.’  
  
    ‘I lost my fucking brother, Ian!’ Mandy barked back, shoving him slightly. ‘I regret everything you did as well. I regret everything _I_ did. I regret every _fucking_ thing that led to that point. Hell, I regret even becoming friends with you if it comes to that. If he’d never met you, maybe I would _still have my fucking brother_!’  
  
    Their yelling was so loud some people stopped on the street to look at them and a dog started barking in the distance. Sometime during her yelling, Mandy had stood up, towering over Ian. Gritting her teeth and sucking in a breath at the look on his face, she flopped back down and put her head in her hands, fingers raking through her hair. She let go once more, tears falling down her face.  
  
    ‘ _Fuck_ ,’ she pretty much screeched out between her teeth and she could see Ian wince. ‘I fucking miss him. I miss him so fucking goddamn much.’  
  
    To her surprise, Ian wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into his chest. After a second of breathing and feeling each other’s warmth, they both cried silently to themselves.  
  
    Ian was so sick of crying. He was sick of his chest aching. He was sick of feeling strangely empty. He was doing a job he loved, he was getting along better with his family, he was making some friends, but he still felt like something was missing. And he was sick of knowing that the only person who could fill that void was fucking gone and not coming back. He was glad Mickey was probably in a better place, but the selfish part of him wanted him back in the less-green grass that was his arms.  
  
    ‘I do too,’ he breathed.  
  
    Sniffing, Mandy pulled away and said, ‘I want you to have something. I reckon Mickey would too.’  
  
    Wiping at his eyes, Ian asked, ‘What?’  
  
    A few minutes later, Ian was watching as Mandy poured some of Mickey’s ashes in a small urn. Without even having to ask, she filled up two, knowing one wasn’t going to be enough for Ian. He’d always been a selfish dickhead.  
  
    ‘I like your tattoo,’ Ian said, gesturing to her inner forearm, where two words were simply laid out against her skin.  
  
    She smiled softly, putting the lids on the urns. ‘Thanks. It’s a reminder.’  
  
    ‘It’s a nice one,’ Ian said.  
  
    ‘It’s actually his last words to me, you know?’ Mandy looked up at Ian to see him looking a bit surprised. Mandy rolled her eyes. ‘Well, he did also call me a douchebag, but I decided to forgo that part.’  
  
    A corner of Ian’s mouth lifted in a small smile. ‘Yeah, that sounds about right…Still…it’s nice. Maybe I should get one.’  
  
    ‘Really? What were his last words to you?’  
  
    Ian smiled a little to himself, remembering the way Mickey’d breathed “Kiss me, Ian” the way Ian had always wanted. Those weren’t the words he was thinking of, though. ‘He said a lot, but the one that stood out was that I had a second chance. That my disorder wasn’t the be all, end all. He told me he loved me and a bunch of other stuff that was amazing to hear too, but, uh…I know that’s what he wants me to remember.’  
  
    Mandy laughed slightly. ‘“Stay happy” and “Second chance”. We could be tat buddies.’  
  
    Ian laughed, nodding. ‘Yeah, why not. Are you gonna visit?’  
  
    ‘Yeah, I’m actually going to be back in a few months for Ig’s wedding. You wanna be my date?’  
  
    ‘I’d love that.’ Ian smiled, starting to feel something lifting in his chest. Not properly — it probably never would, but the weight was slowly shifting off. ‘Actually, uh, after my first year, I’m looking at getting transferred. They sometimes offer you that, once they figure out if you’re good enough. I was thinking of going to New York. Mick once went on a run there, and when he came back, he wouldn’t shut up about it. It was the only thing I’ve ever really seen him excited about. I figured I’d see what he was making a big fuss over.’  
  
    Mandy nodded. ‘Yeah, I remember he came back and told me about how he saw Times Square. Showed me fuckin’ pictures and everything. Literally the only time he’s ever acted that way toward me, but he _was_ high at the time, so…But, I’ll visit you, maybe. I could drive Svet and Yev up there, and we could all hang out.’  
  
    Ian’s smile brightened even further. ‘Yeah, that’d be great.’  
  
    Mandy slowly eased herself up. ‘I’d better get goin’.’ She was about to turn around, but she knew she had to ask what he was going to do with Mickey. ‘Do you think you’re going to keep or scatter those?’  
  
    ‘I’m going to keep one,’ Ian said, easily deciding. ‘Scatter the other one.’  
  
    Mandy arched her eyebrows. ‘You know a good place?’  
  
    Ian smiled softly, thinking of the dugouts and abandoned buildings and their room in the Milkovich house, and nodded. ‘I know a few good places.’  
  
    Mandy nodded as well, heading down to her car. Ian followed after her, holding two small urns in his hands, each containing pieces of Mickey. Mandy strapped her bigger urn in the passenger seat again, before leaning against the driver’s side door and looking at Ian.  
  
    ‘You know I didn’t mean what I said, right?’ Her voice was small and soft, and Ian loved her so much.  
  
    ‘Yeah,’ he responded just as softly.  
  
    She nodded. ‘Okay…and…Ian?’  
  
    ‘Hmm?’  
  
    ‘I’m glad you let him go. I mean, I’m glad you could do that for him.’  
  
    Ian took a deep breath before nodding. ‘Yeah, I am too.’  
  
    Mandy got in her car. As she pulled away from the curb, she flipped him off and called out, ‘Stay happy, douchebag!’  
  
    Ian laughed. He looked down at the urns in his hands, before glancing back at Mandy’s car as it sped around the corner.  
  
    That weight in his chest once again felt a little bit lighter.

**Author's Note:**

> So I was pretty blue tonight, so I decided to write this while I felt shitty. (Hence Mandy and Ian yelling at each other oops). However, this ended up lifting my spirits? So...yay for fic and getting your feelings out? Also, thanks for all your comments on It Felt Like Home, they were all so nice that I hope this is an adequate epilogue type thing <3


End file.
